Eternity at heart

As a thanks for my 27 month peace corps service, I get a plane ticket home-- or reimbursement for one-- and some “readjustment” money. But no real pressure to go home. As a result, I am free to just stay here-- or drift slowly back. I am doing the latter through Ethiopia, Egypt, and Jordan, with a fellow volunteer.
In each place-- from the 1000 year old rock hewn churches in Lalibella, Ethiopia, to the glorieous mummies and burial chambers in Luxor, Egypt, we hang between awesome structures, knick knack vendors, and petty thieves.
I just finished 2 years of modern 3rd world living. Hand washing, baking over an open fire, sweeping with straws, using an outhouse, sleeping in mud and thatch structures, and bathing with a bucket. The people who built the rock hewn churches of Ethiopia and the great temples and palaces of Egypt, however, didn't even have the plastic jerry cans, buckets, soap, or latrines that I did. Here were people for whom life hung between rainy seasons, fending off wild animals, and mysterious disease-- for whom survival required constant work-- and they were focused on the hereafter. They wanted to connect with their maker, and leave something behind for their descendants. As a result, they made beautiful, intricate, spiritual tombs, churches, and temples.
At the same places, there are people who make their livings off of overpriced papyrus, buggy rides, or cold injera (Ethiopian staple) and lentils. How about grave robbers, pocket thieves, or kidnappers? How could these great historic civilizations, hewing granite and carving intricate hieroglyphics, produce such? Standing next to these grand achievements, moreover, how do shopkeepers feel as they sell junk that no one wants?
I know that in their own ways, the shopkeepers are building their lives, etc, but I would rather be a Queen Nefertari than a fake papyrus vendor.
As I see 30% unemployment on magazines in airports, and wonder about my prospects at home, I must remember this lesson. I do not want to sink into survival mode, but instead, to keep my eye on the ultimate prize; to keep eternity at heart.